BankThink

The Real Unbundling Threat Is Rebundling

09/26/16

Up until now, no fintech company has succeeded on a mass scale to offer solutions beyond its core product. But disruptors are trying to go in that direction, and banks should watch their efforts closely.

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Morning Scan: The Payments Revolution; Wells Fargo's Clawback Question

09/26/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Backwater no longer: Payment systems have long been a backwater of finance, but all that is changing, the Financial Times says in a special report on "The Payments Revolution." While the expansion of online shopping and mobile payment devices has spurred massive growth, "the industry is entering a period of extreme disruption. The dominant players — the banks and credit card companies — face an uncertain future. A fast-growing group of upstart...

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Board Diversity Is the Right Thing to Do: SEC Chair Mary Jo White

09/26/16

The staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission is working on a proposal to amend the current diversity disclosure rule to require more specificity, including information on the race, gender and ethnicity of board members and nominees. Here's why.

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It's On to the Hall of Fame for Beth Mooney

09/26/16

This year, KeyCorp executed the second-largest bank acquisition by deal value since the financial crisis and announced a groundbreaking commitment to do $16.5 billion of lending to low- and moderate-income communities across several states. Chairman and CEO Beth Mooney also purposely raised the visibility of other executives at her company, to bring more diversity of thought into the companyÂ's decision-making process. But Mooney doesn't see an end to her days of trailblazing yet.

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To Stop Hackers, Think Like One

09/23/16

Financial services IT teams must think like cybercriminals and develop an offensive approach to security at a time when threats are growing in frequency and sophistication.

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A Lot of Compliance Doesn't Mean Good Compliance

09/23/16

A compliance-at-all-cost mentality, which is the overarching attitude in many banks, results in overspending and overallocating valuable resources to meet both real and perceived compliance standards.

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Morning Scan: Wells' Troubles Mount; Bill Would Boost Fintech

09/23/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Another day, another woe: The pressure on Wells Fargo continues to increase. Eight Democrat senators Thursday asked the Labor Department to open an investigation into the bank's workplace practices. Specifically, the senators, led by Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked the department's Wage and Hour Division to examine whether Wells "aggressively skirted" overtime laws and failed to properly compensate its lower-level employees. Labor said it was taking "very seriously" complaints about how the bank...

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Women in Banking: Wellsgate, B of A Settlement and a Fintech Escape

09/22/16

We haven't heard from Carrie Tolstedt yet, but she has been in the spotlight all week, as seemingly everyone wants an explanation from Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase puts even more focus on digital channels, and Politico has a piece on the opportunities fintech offers women, especially female bankers, with a caveat. Also, the B of A bros' club suit has been settled.

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Fed Deserves Some Blame for Aggressive Cross-Selling Tactics

09/22/16

The Wells Fargo scandal is more reason for officials to tighten policy on anti-tying measures to put a stop to overly aggressive sales methods.

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Let's Not Repeat Failings of Pre-Durbin Age

09/22/16

In 2010, lawmakers passed reforms to bring transparency and competition to a swipe fee market that had been devoid of both. Now, they want to undo that progress.

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